Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 719

Literary and Pregnancy Dos and Donts

This adore this Romance Heroine's Don'ts List.  It's quite amusing.

I thought I'd create a list as well. 

So inspired by the birth of my friends' first child two days ago, here is my Friends and Family of an Expecting Parent Don'ts List.

Please feel free to suggest additions to the list. 

1. Don't tell an expecting parent that he or she will never sleep well again.  Just because you gave birth to a monster and/or are ineffective at managing sleep cycles doesn't mean that you should...

Best books of 2009

The New Yorker's writers list some of their favorite books of 2009.

Ann Kingman, Michael Kindness and the Books on the Nightstand listeners list some of their own favorites from the past year.

My hope was to include a list of my own favorite books of 2009, but it occurs to me that I read only a handful of books this year that were actually published in 2009, and while I enjoyed most of them, they were not my favorite books of the year.  My paltry list includes:

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND...

An honor or a disservice?

The NY Times ran a piece about the most commonly shoplifted books.

Oddly enough, THE BIBLE tops the list in some stores.  Perhaps people feel entitled to the word of their Lord.  Or perhaps THE BIBLE is overpriced.  I purchased a copy a couple years ago for a project that I was working on, and I spent well over $100 on it. 

Maybe the masses simply cannot afford the book.  

The Telegraph reports that THE VIRGIN SUICIDES is the most commonly shoplifted book in modern times.  I have not...

Talented teenager

My former student has been creating some stop-motion videos that are both ingenious and highly entertaining.  She was brilliant when I taught her in third grade, but seven years later, she's even more impressive.  Please take a moment and check them out.  They are sure to bring a smile to your face.

I'm actually thinking about asking her to create a stop-motion video trailer for my next book, UNEXPECTEDLY, MILO, similar to the stop-motion stick drawings that she did in the third video.  I...

Look! A Democrat who speaks like a Republican!

I try not to be too political on this blog, but sometimes I can't help it.  I'm a registered Democrat who longs for a Republican party of the Barry Goldwater era in place of the socially conservative, right-wing, anti-intellectual religious insanity that now dominates the party.

I simply cannot join arms with people whose mantra is "Drill, baby drill." 

Until Limbaugh, Beck, Fox News, and the Christian Coalition cease to have power over the party and there is a return to sensible...

The story of our engagement

Five years ago today, I asked my wife to marry me.  My goal was to give her a proposal that she would never forget.  Here is the story:

Elysha's favorite room in the world is Grand Central Station, so I had decided to ask her to marry me there. I also wanted the proposal to be a complete surprise, so I picked December 28th, right in between Christmas and New Years and about two weeks before her birthday. I figured that if Elysha was suspecting a proposal, she might expect it to happen on...

Rise up, my brothers and sisters!

Mark Wilson and I are simpatico when it comes to handling movie theater talkers.  I agree with everything he suggests. 

On Wednesday my friend and I plan on seeing Avatar at the local IMAX theater, and if anyone dares to speak during the movie, I will take immediate action, employing some of Wilson's suggestions with my own if necessary.  Normally, a simple but stern reminder regarding theater etiquette is enough to quiet down the average movie talker, but on more than one occasion, I have...

Nothing good can come of it

When I am helping a friend or colleague prepare for a confrontation with  a coworker, boss, family member or similar individual, I often ask the same question:

What is your expectation for a reasonable outcome?

For example, if you know that your supervisor has strong, seemingly unwavering feelings about a decision that he has made, but you disagree with that decision, is it reasonable to expect that you will be able to change his mind or alter the way he makes decisions in the future by...

I dont care if Glenn Beck is on your Christmas list

An excellent question from Kate Ward of Shelf Life in regards to gift-giving etiquette:

"Is it possible to feel good about spending $20 for a book that you despise but know your loved one will devour?"

For me, it depends upon where the profits from the purchase are going.  If my loved one has asked for a copy of Virginia Woolf's TO THE LIGHTHOUSE or Edith Wharton's ETHAN FROME, two novels that I despise, I would have no reservation about plunking down $20 for the gift.  While Woolf and...

Another review to close out 2009

Hartford Magazine reviewed SOMETHING MISSING for their January 2010 edition, which arrived at my home this week.   

Marion Dooling writes that "Matthew Dicks's tale about OCD thief Martin Railsback and "'his clients' is a fun, quirky book that kept me reading far beyond regular bedtime.  His sense of humor and off-beat storyline often made me smile and share passages with friends."

A nice holiday treat for me!